Yesterday I discovered a Welsh term that describes me, and many of you, perfectly – ieithgi [‘ɪəiθgi] (lit. “language dog/hound”), which refers to someone who is very keen on languages, i.e. a linguaphile. There are also some cool Welsh language games on the BBC website under that name, which where I found it.

Are there equivalent words for ieithgi (pl. ieithgŵn) in other languages?

In Welsh morglawdd is the word for a tidal barrage (lit. “sea bank, dyke, earthwork or hedgerow”). I heard this word during a discussion on Radio Cymru of plans to build such a barrage across the Severn Estuary and I just liked the sound of it.

The plans are opposed by many environmental groups who prefer an alternative proposal to build an artificial reef or greigres artiffisial, which would cost less, produce more power, and would have less environmental impact.

There are more details of the project on the BBC website in English and Welsh.

Today I went up to Bangor Uni to start the process of registering (cofrestru) as a student. I’ve now officially accepted the offer of a place – the letter of offer was sent to me in June, but it seems to have got lost in the post. So I went to the registry (cofrestrfa) to pick up a copy, as well as various other forms that need filling in. Registration (cofrestru) doesn’t actually happen until the end of next month though.

The word cofrestru is a combination of cof, memory, mind, and rhestru, to list, make a list, which comes from rhestr, list, rank, row. Related words include rhestrog, rowed, in rows; and rhestrol, ordinal.

What does television and stinky badgers have in common?

Well, there’s a kind of stink badger (Mydaus javanensis) that lives in Java, Sumatra, Borneo and the North Natuna Islands of Indonesia and which called teledu /teledu/ in Malay; sigung in Indonesian. The word teledu /tɛ’lɛdɨ/ just happens to be the Welsh word for television.

This is the stink badger:

Found via this blog.

The word television of course comes from the Greek word τῆλε (tele), ‘far off / at a distance’, and the Latin visionem, ‘act of seeing, sight, thing seen’. Most languages call the television something similar. There a few exceptions though, including the German Fernsehen, ‘Far-see’, the Norwegian Fjernsyn, which means the same as the German; the Icelandic Sjónvarp, ‘vision’ + ‘throw’; and the Chinese 電視 [电视] (di

Today’s word, crychydd (‘krəx.ɨð) is one of the Welsh words for heron. Other words for heron include crëyr, crehyr and crŷr, which appear to be immitations of the sounds herons make. The Irish word for heron is similar – corr.

Whenever I go for a walk by the sea here in Bangor, I often see a heron or two, as well as various other kinds of birds. They are usually grey herons (crëyr glas), but I did see a white one the other day, or it might have been a white egret. I’d like to learn a bit about these birds and their names in Welsh (and English, if I don’t already know them). I’ll see if the Welsh language bookshop in town has a book on local birds the next time I’m there.

One of my Welsh dictionaries, Y Geiriadur Mawr, has a section on birds with their names in Welsh and English. Many of the names are translations of their English equivalents, e.g. aderyn du – blackbird, asgell goch – redwing, and gwylan benddu – black-headed gull. Other names are based on the sounds the birds make, their appearance, or their habits or habitats, e.g. wid-wid – rock pipit, gwidihŵ – owl, bronfraith (speckled breast) – song thrush, Harri-gwylch-dy-big (Harry wash your beak) – little grebe, aderyn yr eira (snow bird) – starling.